CGTN America x TechCrunch Disrupt 2025!

Key Concepts

• AI for Global Good: Utilizing Artificial Intelligence for public health, agriculture, disaster response, and social value.
• Open Source Models: AI models that are publicly accessible, allowing for wider adoption, customization, and cost-effectiveness, particularly for developing nations.
• Global South Adoption: The increasing use of AI technologies, especially from China, in developing countries due to affordability and suitability for local socioeconomic conditions.
• Smart Cities: The application of AI and technology to manage urban environments, including traffic patterns and public services.
• Deep Tech: Advanced technological innovations, including AI, EVs, flying taxis, and autonomous driving.
• Industry 4.0: The fourth industrial revolution, characterized by automation, data exchange, and smart manufacturing.
• AI Governance and Ethics: The development of standards, ethical practices, and frameworks for the responsible use of AI.
• Superintelligence: Advanced AI systems with capabilities far exceeding human intelligence.
• Proprietary vs. Open AI: The debate between keeping AI models closed and proprietary for commercial advantage versus making them open for broader collaboration and transparency.

AI for Global Good and Public Impact

The discussion highlights the significant role of AI in addressing global challenges and promoting public impact, development, and social value.

• China's Contribution to Open Source: Rayma emphasizes that Chinese developers have made substantial contributions to global good through open-source AI models. This approach is crucial because it significantly reduces costs, enabling developers worldwide to utilize and customize these models. Furthermore, open-source models enhance security by allowing users to run models on their own servers, mitigating concerns about data privacy on foreign servers.
• Cost Advantages for Developing Nations: The cost-effectiveness of Chinese AI models is particularly beneficial for countries in the Global South and developing nations. These countries can experiment with AI in ways that would be prohibitively expensive if they relied on closed models from regions like Silicon Valley. This affordability extends to other deep tech areas such as Electric Vehicles (EVs), flying taxis, and autonomous driving, where Chinese technologies are often priced more appropriately for the global economy due to the different revenue potential and willingness to pay in the Chinese market compared to developed markets like the US.
• Global South's Growing Influence: Rebecca Fannon notes that China's influence in the Global South is becoming increasingly pronounced, a shift from just five years ago. The rapid spread of AI and the ease with which open-source platforms can travel across borders are facilitating this trend, leading to a nascent stage of collaboration and cooperation in AI throughout the Global South.
• Suitability of Chinese Models for the Global South: Sajad Sed observes that Chinese AI models are well-suited to the Global South due to their optimization for environments where computing power is expensive and unaffordable. This alignment with socioeconomic conditions drives higher adoption rates. He also points out that AI utilization within Chinese society, particularly in healthcare, is significantly more advanced than in the West, offering valuable use cases for the Global South. The integration of AI in China is more in tune with local cultures and is more affordable, making it attractive and unifying for these regions.
• Real-World Applications in Pakistan: Sajad provides concrete examples from Pakistan. In healthcare, many companies are adopting AI. In defense, Pakistan and China collaborate closely. Chinese companies have made significant advancements in smart city management, with their technology being considered ahead of others globally. Pakistani AI companies are increasingly using data centers from providers like Huawei because they are the only affordable options. Sanctions on certain chips (e.g., Nvidia) further compel these countries to adopt Chinese solutions.
• Unique Hybrid Solutions: Pakistan's position at the crossroads of East and West allows it to learn from both Chinese and Western AI models, fostering unique solutions. Sajad mentions a company that uses multiple AI models (ChatGPT, Deepseek, Grok) for debate and then employs a "super AI" to learn from their responses and generate optimized solutions. This approach is being seen in areas like AgriTech and HealthTech, leveraging the abundant digital data available from China and Pakistan for training AI models.
• Advanced AI Applications in China: Rebecca Fannon agrees, highlighting the advanced application of AI in China and other markets, often surpassing Western nations. She cites autonomous vehicles and EVs as areas where China is dominating and innovating. Smart city initiatives, including smart traffic patterns, are also more widespread and accepted in China due to its digitally savvy population, leading to quicker uptake compared to the US.
• AI and Job Transformation: Rayma offers a counter-perspective to the Western view of AI as a job displacer. He argues that AI is automating jobs that are often burdensome and potentially dangerous for humans. For instance, in EV factories, workers are increasingly monitoring robots on automated production lines, reducing their exposure to physical harm from handling large objects like car doors and engines. AI's precision also enhances manufacturing processes.

Technology, Research, and Capacity Building

The panel discusses how countries in the Global South can partner with China to accelerate development through research, training, and AI-enabled solutions.

• Three-Dimensional Collaboration: Sajad proposes a three-dimensional approach to collaboration: people, process, and platforms.
  • People: This involves collaboration between research institutions and increased people-to-people contact. The number of Pakistani students pursuing degrees in China is rising, and vice versa. Tech companies and organizations are collaborating on manufacturing.
  • Process: Both countries need to learn from each other, particularly from China's AI adoption in city management and Industry 4.0. China has transitioned from relying on low labor costs to advanced "dark factories" with minimal human employees. The Global South can learn from China's success in improving citizen services through AI adoption.
  • Platforms: This refers to the technological infrastructure and tools available for AI development and deployment.
• Chinese Tech Titans and Startup Ecosystem: Rebecca highlights the influence of Chinese tech titans (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance) not only within China but also across the Global South. These companies are heavily investing in AI and their own models, as well as in startups. China's AI patent filings are nearly on par with the US, and its investment spending on AI is also comparable to the Western world.
• Chinese Companies Going Global: Rayma notes that while most Chinese AI companies remain focused on the domestic market, a significant percentage are also targeting global markets. The highest-grossing Chinese AI startups are predominantly those operating internationally. The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT is expected to further drive Chinese entrepreneurs to pursue global markets, as LLMs are inherently suitable for international expansion due to their language-agnostic nature.
• Investor Interest in China: Rayma observes a significant increase in investor interest in China's AI sector. He recounts how Silicon Valley was surprised by Deepseek's efficient AI model, which challenged the high valuations of Silicon Valley AI companies. Deepseek's success, achieved through internal funding rather than venture capital, served as a wake-up call and intensified competition, fostering greater innovation.

Shaping a Global AI Ecosystem: Cooperation, Scalability, and Shared Innovation

The conversation shifts to the potential for China to shape a global AI ecosystem characterized by cooperation, scalability, and shared innovation.

• Hope for Global Collaboration: Sajad expresses a strong hope for global AI collaboration, believing that nations are in "deep trouble" without it. He draws parallels to the internet, which, if confined to Europe or the US, would have limited its global impact. He anticipates that despite current siloed development (Chinese, US, European AI models), countries will eventually converge on standards and define ethical boundaries for societal benefit. He believes this will evolve from national security concerns to a realization of mutual benefit through open communication and trade.
• Cautious Optimism and Commercial Barriers: Rebecca shares a cautiously optimistic view, acknowledging the immense benefits of AI for humanity, akin to sharing medical discoveries. However, she points out significant barriers, primarily driven by the substantial commercial interests in AI. The momentum to keep AI models proprietary and "black box" makes radical transparency difficult from a commercial logic standpoint. She suggests that policymakers might need to mandate greater transparency. She also notes that open-sourcing by Chinese companies, while potentially idealistic, is also a rational strategy for runners-up to gain attention and credibility.
• AI Governance and Ethical Standards: The panel discusses the challenges of establishing global standards and ethical practices for AI governance.
  • US Internal Divisions: Rayma highlights the deep divisions within the American technology community regarding AI research, particularly concerning superintelligence. He mentions frequent open letters from prominent figures calling for a halt to superintelligence development, indicating that fundamental questions about AI's future direction remain unresolved. This makes focusing on developing AI within specific guardrails difficult.
  • UN Frameworks: He notes that multilateral bodies like the United Nations have been discussing AI frameworks for over a year.
  • Elon Musk as a Bridge: Rayma also points to Elon Musk's involvement with Tesla in China and AI as a positive factor, acting as a bridge between the US and China for now.
• The Nature of Technological Disruption: Sajad views AI as one of the most significant social and technological disruptions in history. He presents two perspectives:
  • Birth of a New Species: A stark view where AI, as a silicon-based species, could eventually supersede humanity, questioning human relevance if physical and cognitive abilities become redundant. He notes the emergence of AI models capable of lying, indicating advanced cognitive behavior.
  • Human Tenacity and Adaptation: An optimistic view where humans, as tenacious creatures, will adapt and establish boundaries for global life. He draws historical parallels to previous technological shifts where certain societies gained temporary advantages before technologies permeated globally. He believes AI adoption will follow a similar path.
• Global Debate and Optimal Solutions: Sajad observes that the debate around AI is happening simultaneously in numerous countries, with societies grappling with the same questions. He believes this shared struggle will eventually lead to the most optimal solution: collaboration.
• Deepseek and Global Adoption: Sajad mentions Deepseek's adoption across the globe as evidence of this trend. He has recently visited 11 countries and found that the AI debate is at a similar stage everywhere, suggesting a collective grappling with these issues.

Conclusion

The discussion underscores the transformative potential of AI, with China playing a pivotal role in driving innovation and accessibility, particularly through its open-source initiatives and cost-effective solutions. While significant challenges remain in achieving global AI cooperation, governance, and ethical alignment, the panel expresses cautious optimism that shared challenges will ultimately lead to collaborative solutions, fostering a future where AI benefits humanity as a whole. The rapid pace of AI development necessitates ongoing dialogue and a commitment to finding common ground to navigate this profound technological revolution.